Projectile



P 1947- G. w. BLACKINTON ET AL 2,427,989

PROJECTILE Filed Aug. 19, 1942 INVENTORS GeorgeW. Blackinton John J. Calhoun. Y 7

. ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 23, 1947 PROJECTILE George W. Blackinton and John J. Calhoun,

Philadelphia, Pa., assignors, by mesne assignments, to United States of America Application August 19, 1942, Serial No. 455,324

3Claims. 1

This invention relates to explosive projectiles such, for example, as grenades and particularly rifle grenades of the type adapted to be fitted over a 'rifle barrel and projected therefrom by firing a blank cartridge inthe rifle.-

An object of this invention is to provide an improved construction for a projectile of this type in which the various parts are so designed and constructed as to facilitate volume production andthe rapid assembly thereof.

A further object is to provide a projectile of the type 'set forth constructed and arranged to permit relatively safe loading of the explosive charge.

This and other 'objectswhich will be apparent are attained by the present invention, one embodiment of which is shownfor the purposes of illustration in the V accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a view partly in longitudinal section and partly in elevation of a rifle grenade constructed in accordance with one embodiment of this invention,

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a section showing one of the steps in loading the projectile.

'As illustrated, the present invention is shown inconnection with'a rifle grenade having a casing H) for an explosive charge II. The forward end of the casing is closed by a cone l2 the base of which engages a circumferential beveled face I3 at the front of the casing The cone is provided for forming a concavity in the front face of the explosive charge for the purpose of producing the maximum destructive effect thereon. As illustrated, the base of the cone is shown as spaced a small distance inwardly from the forward face of the casing I0. An ogive I4 is mounted on the forward end of the casing and provided with a flange I5 engaging the front face of the casing and extending slightly inwardly therefrom forming a shoulder l6 adjacent the base of the cone .12, The forwardly projecting center of the ogive is shaped to form a circular flange II slidably receiving a firingplug l8 supporting the forward end of a firing pin l9 slidable in thebarrel- 2| of the plug and extending rearwardly through the apex of the cone l2; The firing plug projects forwardly from the ogive and is normally held in position by'a shear pin 22 extending through openings in the plug and ogive flange l1. 'lhe central opening 23, through which the firing pin |9 '=is inserted in 'the assembling operation, is

closed by a threaded closure plug 24 or the like. The ogive is secured to the casing In by having its end 25 spun over a shoulder 26 formed by a circumferential groove 21 cut in the outer face of the casing adjacent its forward end. i

The flringpin I9 extends through an opening at the apex of the cone and into the body member 28 of a'fuse assemblyincluding detonator 29 and booster charge 3|. The body member 28 has a flange 32 engaging an inner fiange 33 for positioning the fuse assembly in the explosion chamber, the body member being easily insertable through a threaded opening 34 provided in the rear end of the container I0. After assembly this opening is closed and the fuse assembly 28 secured in place by a threaded plug 35 threaded into the opening 34 and locked in place by a radial screw threaded locking plug 36 extending through the wall of the casing l0 into engagement with the threads of the closure plug 35. Accidental firing of the detonator by the firing pin 19 is normally prevented by a safety pin 31 extending through the fuse assembly body member 28 between the end of the firing pin l9 and the detonator 29. The safety pin is normally held frictionally in position by its enlarged head 38 having a conical face engaging the similarly formed face of opening 39 in the casing Ill. Preferably a protective tube 40, of paper or tlielike, positioned between the inner casing wall and the fuse assembly container 28 provides an opening through the explosive charge ll so that the pin can be inserted or Withdrawn Without contacting the charge. The safety pin preferably'has a pull ring 4| for quick release. 7

A stabilizer assembly including a stabilizer tube 42 is secured to the closure plug 35 by driven fasteners 43 and spot welds 43 and a plurality of stabilizer fins 44 are mounted at the rear end of the tube for stabilizing the flight of the projectile. As illustrated, each fin is spot welded to the tube 42 and extends radially outward there- 7 from to form a stabilizing fin. Each fin is bent to form a circular portion 45 concentric with the tube 42 and extending circumferentially around to the next adjacent fin 44 to which it is spot welded thereto in a depression 46, as best illustrated in ploded while there is a certain distance between the target and the front edge of the charge. This distance depends uponv the velocity of the projectile and the brizance of the explosive, which can be attained either by varying slightly the pople spinning operation. The firing pin and the I supporting plug are secured in place by the shear pin 22. The firing assembly container is. inserted in the opposite end of the casing i0, and'thecasing and stabilizer assembly are threadedtogether by threading the plug 35 into the opening in the end of the casing, this in turn locking the fuse assembly body member 28 in place. Loading of the explosive charge may either be done when the parts are first assembled or, if loading is accomplished ina different place than the point of manufacture, it is a simple matter to disassemble the parts for loading purposes. g

The present construction greatly increases the safety factor inloading which is effected through open front end of the casing before the cone i2 is put in place. In the loading-operation a dummy plug 50 is inserted in the rear end of the casing in place of the fuse assembly container 28 while the tube 40 and a dummy safety pin 5i are placed in, position, as shown in Fig. 3. The heated molten charge is then poured into thecasing in such an amount as to approximately fill the casing when the" cone I2 is inserted, which is done while the chargeis molten. The plug 50 has a pin 52 which'is adapted to enter the opening at the apex of the cone to position the latter and to form an .opening through the explosive charge for receiving the firing pin I! when it is later put in place. In effect, the charge is cast in the casing resulting in an integral unitary product. When the-charge has cooled and solid 'ified the dummy pin Si is removed leaving the tube 40 in place. The dummy plug 50 is then removed leaving a cavity shaped exactly toreceive the fuse assembly casing 28 which is then inserted in place after which the safety pin 31 can be inserted through the tube 40 without contacting the explosive charge.

In operation, the stabilizer tube 42 is placed over the end of a rifle barrel from which it is projected at a high-velocity by firing a blank cartridge in th rifle. Upon impact on the target the plug I8 is driven inwardly shearing the pin 22 and driving the firing pin i9 into the detonator 29, the safety pin 31 having been extracted prior to firing therifle. The resulting explosion occurs while there is still the requisite distance between the target and the base of the cone l2 so that maximum destructive effect is produced. At the same time, the explosion causes the material of the cone i2 to penetrate the target somewhat in the manner of a projectile, increasing the total destructive efiect.

It will be apparent that the present invention can be variously modified and adapted within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An article of manufacture comprising in combination, a casing for an explosive charge, said casing having ieading and trailing ends, a fuse assembly body member having a detonator and a booster charge, supported at the trailing end of said casing and extending inwardly theres 4 a of, a charge positioning cone extending inwardly from the leading end of said casing, an ogive secured to the leading end of said casing, a firing pin slidably supported at one end in said ogive and extending through said cone and into said body member to a point adjacent said detonator, a safety Din extending through said casing and through said body member between said detonator and said firing pin, and means protecting a charge in said casing from contact by said safety pm.

2. An article of manufacture comprising in combination, a casing {or an explosive charge, said casing having leading and trailing ends, a

fuse assembly body member having a detonator Y and a booster-charge, supported at the trailing end of said casing and extending inwardly thereof, a charge positioning cone extending inwardly from the leading end of said casing, an ogive secured to the leading end of said casing, a flr-' ing pin slidably supported atone end in said ogive and extending through said cone and into said body member to a point adjacent said detona'tor, a safetypin extendingthrough said casing and through said body memberbetween said detonator and said firing pin; and a tubular mem-.

ber surrounding said safety'pin to protect a charge in said casing-from contact by said pin.

3. An article of manufacture comprising in combination, a casing for an explosive charge,

said casing having'leading and trailing ends, a

fuse assembly body member having a detonator and a booster charge -therein and supported at the trailing end o'f said casing, an ,ogive secured to the leading end of said casing-and having a central circular flange projecting forwardly thereof, an annular firing plug slidably supported within said flange,'a firing pin extending through said plug and into said body member to a point adjacent said detonator, the head of said pin being located within said plug, a shear pin extending through said flange and firing plug adjacent the head of said pin, and a closure member in said plug engaging said shear pin to hold said shear and firing pins in ,place, whereby impact on said plug drives said firing pin into said detonator.

GEORGE W. BLACKINTON.

JOHN'J. CALHOUN.

REFERENCES CITED The followingreferences are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number .Name Date 14,460 Lippincott Mar. 18, 1856 1,335,406 Taylor Mar. 30,1920 2,108,818 Huff Feb. 22, 1938 1,900,790 Brandt Mar. 7, 1933 1,409,045 Urbutis Mar. 7, 1922 940,527- Hale Nov. 16, 1909 2,145,507 Denoix Jan. 31, 1939 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 15,941 Great Britain July 3, 1914 103,589 Great Britain Feb. 1, 1917 381,577 France May 2'7, 1907 28,030 Great Britain Dec. 13, 1911 502,754 France Feb, 27, 1920 113,685 Australia Aug. 14, 1941 3,091 Great Britain Feb. 25, 1915 

